Questions
by Spinning Furret
Summary: In the Muggle world, there is L. In the Wizard world, there is Harry Potter, aka Q. In Japan, a criminal killer known as Kira is rising, causing criminals to die of heart attack of mysterious methods. Both detectives have set their eye on catching Kira. The board is set, and there are three players, each one confident in their ability. Who will win in the end, though?
1. Prologue: Setting the Scene

**Questions  
><strong>_-Prologue: Setting the Scene-_

* * *

><p>After Voldemort's defeat in '98, Harry had not quite known what to do with his life. He didn't want to become an Auror, as he'd had enough with battling. So, for several years, he traveled around the world, soaking up knowledge like a sponge, and practicing - and refining - his magic as he learned.<p>

He additionally served as a detective, mostly for the Wizarding government, but occasionally the Muggle government called him in as well. While spending some time in Canada, he'd gained a friend in Giovanni Shephard, nicknamed Geo, who'd became Harry's butler of sorts.

During his travels and his career as a detective, he'd gradually became more eccentric as he learned more, and the constant travel from one side of a globe to another soon transformed Harry into an insomniac, which really was just the further development of what had started during the end of fourth year, due to nightmares, became much stronger during his quest to destroy the Horcruxes, and then, since he never bothered to re-establish an ordinary sleeping schedule, became normal.

Of the many eccentricities he'd developed, one was for striped shorts and colorful socks and scarves, often in tasteless colors (probably a reflection of his dislike for the faded and dull-colored clothing he'd gotten when he'd lived with the Dursleys) which, Harry supposed, was normal for the highly-intelligent (that wasn't to be arrogant but to state a truth). Dumbledore, for example, no dress sense. Harry liked to think he had some sort of quirky fashion about him.

As he continued to solve more cases, Harry's reputation as a detective - under the alias of Q - had grown among the wizarding world, however, in the Muggle world he remained rather obscure.

It was in 2006, however, that Harry received what might be the case of a lifetime...

* * *

><p>"Hello, Kingsley." Harry greeted the man in the Atrium. "Life as Minister still fulfilling?"<p>

"Fulfilling enough." Kingsley said. "How's Ed?"

"Teddy's fine." Harry said. "Visited him a few days ago, actually."

"Mm." Kingsley hummed.

"That's not why you called me here, though." Harry stated, knowing it was a fact. Kingsley Shacklebolt was a busy man, and thus, didn't really have the time to be socializing much.

"No, it isn't." Kingsley agreed. "Come to my office."

Harry nodded and followed the man, wondering what it was about. Probably another case, perhaps a rogue wizard or Muggle-hater, a particularly intelligent one at that to avoid them. Then again, the Ministry didn't really have a dedicated department for that sort of thing, the Aurors were only law enforcement, not specialized criminologists.

Kingsley entered the elevator, which was, frankly, stuffed. Harry looked at the cramped space dimly. "You should perhaps consider making bigger elevators." Harry said.

Kingsley shrugged. "Sorry, Harry."

"I'll take the stairs." Harry said, walking up them. He knew that Kingsley would probably let him off with Apparating with the Ministry's HQ, but stairs were good for exercise, nevertheless, heading from the massive expanse that was the Atrium towards Level One, which contained the offices for the Minister and the Minister's support staff, was long.

Nevertheless, Harry made it there eventually, sitting down on the chair opposite Kingsley's desk. "Another rogue muggle-hating, muggle-baiting wizard?"

Kingsley shook his head. "No, actually. This case - if you could call it that - comes directly from the ICPO. They're holding a meeting on it in a few days."

That piqued Harry's interest. "Oh?" Harry said, feigning apathy.

"Yes. In the past few days, 52 criminals worldwide have died of heart attacks, possibly more. The Muggles have taken notice, obviously. Kingsley explained.

"Have any of the criminals been wizards?" Harry inquired.

"No." Kingsley said, reaching into one of the drawers of his desk and pulling out a file detailing known or suspected criminals to have died that way, and placed it in front of Harry.

Harry picked up the file and looked it through. "So the Muggles have called in their top detective and the wizards have called in their top detective, all on the same case." Harry chuckled. "Life is full of ironies."

"We don't know, as yet, rather this is a huge coincidence or something else at work. I'm not necessarily saying that you should head out and solve the whole thing - I have reason to believe that they may call in their own detective, likely a competent one." Kingsley said, knowing that Harry would turn it down if there was even the mention of him not having a choice.

Harry looked through the file. "Fascinating." He said, more to himself than anyone else. "Kingsley, I will most certainly be taking this case up. Very intriguing."

Harry looked up. "Have you noticed, however, that most of these criminals are Japanese? I find it curious. Me and Geo shall be leaving immediately for Japan."

Kingsley nodded as Harry exited, heading for the elevator, but soon popping back in. "The elevator is full again."

Kingsley sighed. "Feel free, Harry. Oh yes - you may want to get into contact with the Muggles. Since this isn't technically a case, I won't be able to provide you with any support, officially speaking."

Harry nodded. "Of course." Harry grinned and apparated away to his house in Scotland.

Geo looked up, seeing the file and Harry's small grin. "Another case?"

"Certainly. Geo, pack your bags, we're heading to Japan." Harry said, grinning.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you enjoyed. Nearly a year since my last fanfiction, I hope this one comes up to snuff or whatever the term is. -SF.<em>

_Made a minor edit for reasons. Made another edit for reasons._


	2. Preparations

**Questions**  
><em>-Chapter One: Preparations-<em>

* * *

><p>"Japan, sir?" Geo questioned.<p>

"Yes." Harry drawled. "A rather interesting case has come up. 52 - possibly more - criminal deaths of heart attacks, centered around Japan. Personally I am of the opinion that it is a wizard, however, the possibility of a Muggle doing can't be ruled out." Harry explained to his butler.

Said butler was rather young, but intelligent and loyal. "D'you think it's some sort of ritual?" Geo asked. "Blood magic and such?"

Harry nodded to himself. "Yes, it might be something like that. Some sort of ritual... I'm going to have to do more research. Oh yes, the ICPO is holding a meeting a few days on the topic of it. I'm thinking of working with them on it. The Muggles have taken awareness, and far too many of them know to perform an Obliviation. Ipso facto, it's probably best to work with them."

Geo considered that possibility for a moment. "On the other hand, they might be suspicious. You aren't as well known in the Muggle world as the wizard one."

"True, true." Harry nodded, smiling. "That's a good point. Nevertheless it might be wise to try. In the meantime, arrange transport - Muggle aeroplane - under the names of Quill Bertram, that's me, and Johan Smidt, that's you."

Geo raised an eyebrow. "I am not German. I can't do accents, you know that."

"Nor can you speak the language, any language, beyond English." Harry muttered, suddenly yawning. "Fate or whomever has smiled upon me with the gift of sleep." And with that he left for his room.

Geo sighed, the insomniac tendencies of the man were difficult, with sleep striking often at the oddest times. Nevertheless, he had preparations to make and not a moment to lose.

* * *

><p>Harry woke up right about four hours later, at 7:00 PM. He wrapped himself in the usual warm robe he wore after waking up and entered. Geo already had a pot of tea ready, the boy - around 19 years old - didn't have much magical talent, but he was attuned to Harry's waking times.<p>

"How many sugars?" Geo asked. The amount of sugars Harry wanted was used to gauge how well he slept - one of the many quirks of the wizard.

"Three." Harry muttered, sitting down on his armchair and putting on some neon green socks. He looked over the file again: it wasn't much. Just names, cause of death, crimes committed, nationality, date of birth and date of death. It wasn't much. "We're definitely going to have to work with the ICPO. There simply isn't enough information on this file." Harry said, throwing it onto the coffee table.

Geo nodded. "You'll be acting as my proxy." Harry informed him.

"Of course." Geo said, for by this point it was quite normal for Geo to act as Harry's proxy for the Muggle governments on the occasion. "I'll inform our British representative."

Harry nodded, having not thought of that. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Die of poisoned tea." Geo smirked.

"I am not that bad of a cook!" Harry said, leaping out of his chair. "That was just one incident, and only because I mistook the green tea leaves for-"

"-Yes, I know." Geo said, smiling.

Harry nodded, sinking back into his chair. "I'll inform Hermione and the lot."

* * *

><p>"How? Autopsies show that in all cases the victims died of a sudden heart attack." One of the delegates said.<p>

"Investigating a series of heart attacks is pointless. I don't see what else we can learn." Another delegate said.

"Absolutely - if these people had been stabbed, or shot, we'd have something to go on." Still another delegate agreed.

"If that's the case, it looks like we'll have to bring in L." One of them said. The room instantly quieted down, except for mild chatter.

"Uh, Chief, what's this L they're talking about?" One of them, Matsuda, said in the Japanese corner of the room.

"I forget it's the first time you've been to a conference." The man next to him, Soichiro Yagami, said. "We don't know L's real name or his whereabouts. In fact, we don't even know what he looks like. However he's managed to solve every case he's taken on, and that's quite a lot, as he's taken on some of the world's greatest mysteries. He hides in the shadows, but he is the best of the best. A last resort - a trump card."

Chatter and debate began again in the room. "I've heard that this L is extremely arrogant and tends to only take on cases he's personally interested in."

"That's exactly right! We don't even know how to contact him." Another agreed.

"Excuse me?" One of the British delegates, the one that the Ministry had made aware of the Wizarding World. "There is another option. A detective, living in Scotland, has already done some research and received information from the government. He has contacted us and informed us that he is willing to take on the case."

The debate settled down again.

"Who is this person?" The American delegate.

The British delegate grinned. "Perhaps I should let his proxy explain."

Geo's turn. He hid a grin. Harry's plan - if you could call it that, as it consisted of interrupting the meeting - had worked smashingly. "Good morning members of the ICPO. My name is Giovanni, the proxy for the detective. His name is Q. Some of you may have heard of him. He, too, has solved every case he's taken on."

"Forgive me for interrupting, but who is this Q person? I have never heard of him." One of the other members interrupted.

Geo nodded. "You wouldn't have. He's not very well known. However, some of you may remember the Kerry Birtch Case back in 2004, with the attempted plane-jacking. Birtch had killed the co-pilot. Thereafter the main pilot - an old man, on his last flight, had an unfortunate heart attack. Q was not only able to disarm Birtch, but able to keep the plane in the air and safely land it."

Murmurs. Clearly, they were impressed.

"And the well-publicized continental murder spree of Gaius Pernt - Q solved that one as well. Q has decided to take up the case and would like the co-operation of ICPO in solving this case."

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of this person. We've never worked with him before, never heard of him. Why should we allow him? L is the most-well known detective in the world and the most successful." One of the delegates said.

"L may not be willing to! Mr. Shephard is presenting a different candidate that's already expressed interest and has a proven track record! Obscurity, if anything, would be a benefit!"

"L has already made his move." Someone else interrupted. The room went quiet as a man dressed in black entered.

"That's the only known person who can contact L. We don't know his true identity, either." Soichiro said quietly to Matsuda.

"Gentleman, L has already begun his investigation into these incidents." The man said.

The delegate questioning Q grinned. "So we won't have to go with a non-entity."

Gio was watching all this and talking to Harry in hurried tones. "Q has informed that he would like to speak with the members of the ICPO and is willing to co-operate with L."

Gio pulled a laptop and opened it. A sans-serif Q appeared on the screen.

* * *

><p>Harry, from his home in Scotland, grinned and clicked the OK button on the voice modifier and quickly got his webcam ready. He swiveled to the microphone and began to speak.<p>

* * *

><p>"Good morning members of the ICPO. Speaking to you now is myself, aka Q. I am afraid that I don't have as much information as I would like on the case, nevertheless I was able to receive something from my contacts. The general belief in the media is that it is a series of coincidental heart attacks." Q said through a voice modifier.<p>

Gio finally succeeded in getting the laptop to connect with the larger screen of the room, and the sans serif Q appeared there as well.

"That belief is a delusion. This is not a series of coincidental heart attacks but an act of mass murder on an unforeseen scale. I will need the complete co-operation of the ICPO as well as any information you have on the victims. I will require further co-operation from Japan's NPA." Q said.

* * *

><p>In his room, Harry placed one of the pages of the file under his carefully positioned webcam, and switched the screen from the sans-serif Q to the webcam. Still smiling, Harry turned back to the microphone.<p>

* * *

><p>"You see now a page from the file I was given by my contacts." Q said. "You will notice that a majority of these criminals are Japanese. Vis-a-vis, I suspect that the culprit is either Japanese in origin or hiding there, be it an individual or an organization." Q explained. "I will be heading towards Japan myself tomorrow. Whether you choose to support me or not I will still be conducting investigations into the matter anyways." The sans-serif Q reappeared on the screen.<p>

Watari spoke next. "L would like to speak to you now." Gio almost thought that the man gave him a short, sharp glare, but surely he was just imagining things...?

Watari placed a laptop on the table and opened it. A gothic-style L appeared on the laptop screen and on the bigger screen, replacing the simpler Q that was there before.

_Two letter motifs to represent a detective_, Gio thought idly.

"Greetings to the members of the ICPO. I am L." Spoke the detective through a different voice modifier. "The difficulty in this case lies in its unprecedented scope, and make no mistake: we are witnessing an atrocious act of mass murder, one that is unforgivable.

"This case can not be solved without the full co-operation of the ICPO. That is, all of the police agencies you represent throughout the world. You need to make the decision to fully support the investigation at this meeting. I will require additional co-operation from Japan's National Police Agency, for reasons already explained. I will be able to provide proof after a direct confrontation with the culprit."

"A direct confrontation?" One of the members murmured to himself.

"At any rate, I intend to set up the investigation headquarters in Japan." L finished.

There was debate in the room on rather to choose Q or L.

"I am of the opinion that L has the better record and is better known!"

"Q is equally successful in his cases!"

And so it went, rather like that. Q himself listened to it with growing amusement and irritation. "Gentleman, rather you support myself or my counterpart, the investigations will happen on both sides." Q said, a touch of bemusement and frustration in his voice. "However I would suggest you make a decision swiftly. And co-operation between myself and L is not out of the question, I am perfectly willing."

Silence again.

"I will have to decline your offer to co-operate, I do not work well with other detectives of my caliber." L said. "At least right now."

"I vote in favor of L." One of the American members said.

The room vote overwhelmingly in favor of L.

"Thank you, gentleman." L said.

"Though I am somewhat surprised, I respect your decision." Q said. Gio shut the laptop and left. Truthfully, the result did not surprise him, but he had hoped that Harry would get some support.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was... interesting." Harry said. "I don't this L person is aware of the wizarding world. I think we can count on their support, especially Britain's. Still, co-operation with the Muggles would've been nice." Harry sighed, sipping his tea.<p>

"I have the passports and I.D. cards prepared. And no, I did not use your ridiculous Germanic alias for me." Gio said, a slight smirk. Making most of the preparations for travel gave that advantage.

"Can't say I'm surprised." Harry mumbled. "First-class booking, I hope?"

Gio nodded.

"Have you made preparations for a hotel room?"

"Of course." Gio chuckled. "Do you doubt me so?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Gio. Simply making sure. I should hope it's a private plane or something, I want to get there by tomorrow."

Gio nodded. "Of course. I've made all the preparations with Harvey."

Harry grinned. "Very well done. Best get packing." He headed to his room with the intent on packing.

After a quick wash, aided my magic, Harry waved his wand and everything he'd need in Japan packed itself neatly and tightly into the two suitcases he'd pulled out. He also took his magical cellphone, quickly flipping it open and dialling Hermione.

"Hello? Hermione? I'm heading to Japan, just thought you might like to know."

"_Is is the usual one-hour-to-prepare rush?_" Hermione said, bemused.

"Yes, Hermione, thank you." Harry said dryly. "I've took up a new case. I'll tell you more once I learn more."

"_Of course._" Hermione agreed.

"Anyway, I don't have time to chat - how's Teddy? He's fine?"

"_He's fine, Harry. Andromeda does expect you for Christmas, though._" Hermione warned him.

"Can do. Bye." Harry said, shutting the cellphone as he left for the house's Apparition Point. He stepped on, where Gio was already waiting for him, being unable to Apparate due to being almost a Squib.

Harry extended his arm out and Gio placed a hand on it, and with that he Apparated to Pike's Point, in Twycroft, where Harvey worked. Gio immediately let go, stumbling and taking deep breaths. "I _hate_ Apparition." Gio muttered.

"Not as much as you hate the Floo." Harry reminded him.

Gio nodded, grumbling to himself as they entered the building. Harvey was there to greet them. "Harry, Gio, so good to see you again. Flight straight to Japan, fast as possible, yes?"

"Sounds about right." Harry agreed. Harvey was already nodding. "Well, follow me, friends, the flight is that-a way..." he said, wandering in the direction of the runway. Harry and Gio followed.

It was a fairly small plane, relatively speaking, very fast. It'd get Harry and Gio to Japan in 9 hours. Harry looked around. Pike's Point was relatively free of trees, but it did have grass and even some gardens with flowers. It was a small company mostly used by the wealthy who wanted fast and secure flights to other countries.

Some yards away, two other planes were landing. In the other direction, two people were boarding one. Harry grinned to himself and headed up into the plane, Gio already having boarded.

"Right, strap in, chaps, you know the security procedures..." Harvey called.

"To Japan we go..." Harry muttered to himself, a smile on his face.


	3. Intrigue

**Questions**  
><em>-Chapter Two: Intrigue-<em>

* * *

><p>Harry woke up just as the aircraft was landing. "How'd you sleep?" He heard blearily as he woke up, but his muddled mind took it as "How many sugars?"<p>

"Five sugars, please." Harry mumbled as he got up. "Morning, Geo. Have we landed yet?" He looked around, out the window. "Don't answer that." He collapsed back into his seat, unwilling to get up.

"That's not funny, Geo." He said, pushing his glasses back and getting up, putting the laptop and papers into his bag. "Right, once you've arrived at the hotel room, I want the computers set up and running. I will inform Kingsley that I've arrived."

"And here we are, fellas." Harvey called over the speakers. "Please depart swiftly and enjoy Japan. Try not to get killed." He said cheerfully.

Harry nodded. "I will be finding myself some tea. Japanese tea, that is."

Gio just nodded as Harry handed him a bag of Galleons. "Find the closest branch of Gringotts and exchange this for yen." Harry instructed him. "I'll be there by... who knows."

With that, they headed out, taking care of the minor things, while Harry headed out into the great wilderness of the foreign country of Japan. He was, due to experience speaking it, able to find what seemed to be a tea-and-candy shop. "How quaint." Harry muttered to himself good-naturedly as he entered, purchased a cup of tea, and then sat down, sipping the tea.

There was a television in the room, and Harry was - thankfully - easily able to hear it in the quiet shop. It was the announcement of another death-by-heart-attack. He pulled out his laptop and established a connection with the small Wi-Fi spot in the tea shop.

He quickly researched the case, first by 'mysterious heart attack killer.' This lead him to the word 'Kira' and a series of websites, one in particular.

So. Even normal people had become aware that these so-called coincidences, so-called unexplained series of heart attacks, and they were calling this person 'Kira', apparently derived from the English word for 'killer.'

There was still something he was missing, and he couldn't figure out what. Something to do with time, that he was sure of. Time of death? Time of incarceration? Time of birth? Time of television broadcast - aha! That wasn't what he was missing, but it was something. He looked at his list again. The earliest criminal to die of a heart attack - criminals tended to not die of heart attacks normally - was a man in Shinjuku.

"Shinjuku." Harry muttered to himself, researching the criminal. It took a bit of searching, but it turned out that the man's crime was relatively small in comparison to a lot of the other criminals on the list, and that his crime was only broadcast in Japan. Fascinating. The stream of deaths only began the day after Otoharada (the criminal) had died.

Reluctance on the part of Kira? Hesitation over moral qualms? Testing to see if it would work? The latter seemed most likely to Harry.

"Sir?" Someone interrupted him. A young lady, working at the tea shop. "Sir, you're mumbling to yourself."

Harry thought about it and, yes, it seemed like he might've. "My apologies. It comes from thinking too quickly and thinking too many things at once."

The lady grinned at what seemed to her like a genial strangeness. "Of course, sir. Sorry to disturb you."

"Not a problem. Actually, thank you - my mind might've gone off on a tangent and then I'd be here for hours." Harry said, grinning like a cheerful madman, shutting his laptop and putting it in his bag.

The lady weakly smiled and left. Harry silently cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm with a flick of his wrist and headed towards the bathrooms. He entered one of the stalls and Apparated away with a quiet crack of air displacement.

* * *

><p>Harry Apparated directly to the front of the hotel what's-its-name and took off the Notice-Me-Not as he entered. He flashed his I.D. card at the clerk or whoever he was.<p>

"Right, Quill Bertram... seventh floor, room 354." The man said.

Harry nodded and headed up, a slight skip in his step. At least, he thought to himself thankfully, the elevators were not as cramped, and much roomier. On the other hand, they were much slower and much more boring.

He eventually arrived at the seventh floor and headed straight for room 354. The door was locked. Harry gave a brief knock. There was no answer. Gio must still be over at Gringotts. Harry briefly looked around and then put his fingers to the doorknob and turned it, opening it.

Wandless magic, he reflected, was probably the greatest form of it. He entered and flopped down on the couch, still thinking.

A direct confrontation with Kira, he pondered, going over the meeting at the ICPO. Exactly what would such a meeting entail? The infamously secretive L, of whom has no known face, revealing himself to the public? Some form of testing of Kira's abilities, however far they may extend to?

Harry shook his head. That was not what he should be thinking about. The question he had was: Muggle or Magician? He didn't know of any ritual that could do it, but it was entirely possible for someone to carefully adapt or even create a new ritual through careful study, trial, and error. Certainly, if it was a ritual, it was entirely possible for deaths to happen differently throughout the years, only being perfected now.

But then, Harry thought, something of that scope would require some form of sacrifice. Kidnappings, to sacrifice one to kill another? Perhaps, but Harry doubted it. There had been no reports of larger quantities of missing person.

International? Entirely possible... yet incredibly unlikely. Too large a scope to go unnoticed. Even if it had been done over the course of years, that still didn't explain why it's continued for so long. That would require a mass orchestration of manpower, a global conspiracy, one that people couldn't talk about.

Harry ruled that out. Not kidnappings. A breeding farm, continuously churning out new children using slaves, bound to one man - or woman's - will by magic? The thought of it horrified him. How could so many people be born and sacrificed? No... that wasn't it.

And he still didn't quite get what he was missing. He knew it was obvious, yet he was missing it. _Time._ He thought. _It's something about time._

Time-Turners? Harry thought as the memory of his own little dance with time in third-year. If it was a mass orchestrated kidnapping between wizards, then spreading the crimes throughout history would make it incredibly difficult to prove that there was a kidnapping.

"_Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time, Harry._" Hermione's voice echoed back at him from third-year. Time travel was incredibly unlikely... that could be ruled out.

Death by heart attack... it had to be some sort of ritual, with the Kira as a technology-savvy wizard. The possibility that it was a Muggle was incredibly low, certainly, in theory a wizard could control a Muggle thus technically making it a Muggle that was Kira, but still. A plan too elaborate and flaws will emerge.

L as Kira? It would be a perfect cover: kill the criminals, and serve as the detective in charge of investigating yourself simultaneously. That would be rather brilliant. However, since L had already been solving crimes for many years, that meant either A: this was a plot carefully planned over the last six years, probably longer, B: the real L was killed and Kira has taken his place and is currently masquerading as L, or C: L wasn't Kira.

Option C seemed mostly likely. L being Kira could be ruled out.

Harry sighed. He was getting nowhere. Just then, Gio arrived back with a knock on the door. Harry leaped up and opened it. "Gio, good to see you."

Gio nodded, handing him the bag of yen, quiet and with a distinctly unhappy look upon his face. "You too."

"Something wrong?" Harry said, sitting back on his chair. Gio sat on the couch in the room. "You would not believe the hassle. Those Japanese goblins are a pain in the ass." Gio complained. "Half of them didn't understand English, the other half butchered the language until it vaguely resembled cow excrement. When I finally found someone fluent enough in English to understand what I was saying, I had to convince the fucking thing that I was, in fact, legitimate despite not technically being a wizard!"

Harry's eyebrows were high. Gio rarely ever swore, which meant that he really was quite unhappy about it. "No more dealing with goblins for you, then." Harry said, getting up and looking around.

In the dining room, on the table, he found the files that he'd been waiting for from the Japanese Ministry. It contained the full criminal and medical history of the criminals, as well the criminals that had suffered heart attacks since the original file. It additionally contained the date of imprisonment, facility they were imprisoned at, and date of the last television broadcast they were in before their death within the time since the killings began.

Very few of these criminals had any previous medical history of heart disease or illness that would lead to a fatal heart attack. That removed any doubts that it may have been coincidence. Most of the criminals for the first day or so were Japanese, afterwards it became much more international.

So: Kira was effectively able to use the Internet, he thought to himself as he took the files back to his chair. If a wizard, he/she - Harry was betting on he - was very tech-savvy. And Harry was very sure that it was a wizard. How could it not be? Any other plan was too risky.

Harry returned to the chair and flicked on the TV, reviewing the file.

"...now take you live to the ICPO." Harry heard the television's speakers say. Harry put down the file and looked at the screen.

A black haired man dressed in a thoroughly professional suit sat at a desk. Behind him, the logo for Interpol. In front, a desk, on the desk, a name plate that said, in plain English, Lind L. Tailor.

"I head up an International Police Task Force which includes all member nations. I am Lind L. Tailor, otherwise known as L." The man onscreen spoke.

Harry eye's widened.. "Surely he's not stupid to give his name in public? Not given L's reputation."

Gio was staring with as much attentiveness as Harry. "This has to be a test of some sort."

"Criminals around the world are being murdered by a serial killer. I consider this crime to be the most atrocious act of murder in history. I will not rest until the person or persons responsible are brought to justice. Kira, I will hunt you down, I will find you." Tailor said.

"This is possibly the stupidest move that L could make." Harry said. "I thought he had a reputation for intelligence."

"Just... no." Gio sighed.

"Kira, I've got a pretty good idea what your motivation might be and I can guess what you hope to achieve. However, what you're doing right now is **evil**." Tailor said.

"If Kira is watching this, L just signed his own death sentence. If this... _facade_ is real, that is." Harry gestured to it. "One would hope that there was some speck of truth to the reputation, to the track record... unbelievable."

Gio nodded, having no words to add to that.

Nearly a minute later, Tailor seemed to go into a spasm, making some painful noises, before slumping over in his chair. Heart attack. Two men carried the man away. The broadcast was cut off by a large, gothic L. Harry couldn't say he was surprised, but still. Whatever doubts that he had lingering, they had been eradicated.

"I heard the rumors, but never thought it would actually happen." A modified voice said. "Kira. It seems you can kill people without having to be there in person. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just witnessed it. _Listen_, to me, Kira. If you did indeed kill Lind L. Tailor, the man that you just saw die on television, I should tell you that he was an inmate whose execution was scheduled for today. That was not me.

"The police arrested him in absolute secrecy, so you wouldn't have about him through TV or the Internet. It appears not even you have access to information about these criminals. But I assure you, L is real, I do exist. Now, try to kill me!" L taunted.

"Bold." Harry said, suppressing the urge to chuckle as L taunted Kira. "Very bold. Risky, too. Not an unintelligent facade... that was very smart. He's simultaneously proved the existence of Kira for certain, determined the method of murder... and, well, guess we'll just keep watching."

Gio agreed. "That is a true professional at work."

"Well, Kira." The voice came through. "It seems that you can't kill me after all. So there are some people you can't kill. You've given me a useful hint."

"Me, too." Harry agreed.

"Let me return the favor. I'll tell you something I think you'll find interesting. Although this was announced as a worldwide broadcast, the truth is, we are only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan. I planned to broadcast this message around the world until we found you, but it looks like that won't be necessary. I now know where you are."

Harry smiled again. "Take notes, Gio. This is brilliant. I couldn't have come up with better myself."

"The police treated your first killing as an unrelated incident, but in actuality, the first of your victims was a suspect in Shinjuku. Of all the criminals that have recently died of heart attacks, this one's crime was by far the least serious. Furthermore, his crime was only ever reported in Japan. I used that information to deduce this much: you are in Japan.

"And your first victim was little more than... an experiment. Which means that you haven't been killing for very long. We decided to broadcast in Kanto first because of its large population, and luckily, we found you. To be completely honest with you, I never expected that things would go this well, but it won't be too long now before I am able to sentence you to death.

"Naturally I'm very interested to know how you're able to commit these murders without being present, but I don't mind waiting a bit longer. You can answer all of my questions when I catch you. Let's meet again soon, Kira." And with that, the broadcast ended.

Harry flopped back down, slouching in his chair. "He certainly lives up to the reputation. That is proof that it's a series murder, proof Kira exists, proof he's in Japan, proof he's in Kanto, and proof that he can kill without presence in the location of the murder, or, it seems anywhere near it."

"Certainly intriguing." Gio murmured.

"Very. But there's still unanswered questions..." Harry said. "This gets more interesting by the day..."


	4. Pause

_Hope you enjoy this chapter. Would've come sooner, but I was watching the first two Lord of the Rings movies. _

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<strong>  
><em>-Chapter Four: Pause-<em>

* * *

><p>Harry was looking over the case files again and thinking about what L had done, with the television broadcast. Irregardless of L's broadcast, the fact remained that Harry was still lagging behind, a practical non-entity, with far less help then the better-known detective.<p>

And he still didn't know - for sure - if Kira was a wizard. He had, however, been doing some thinking, and that was the reason for Harry's call to Hermione. His insomniac tendencies helped, considering that 2:13 AM (Dec. 9) at night in Japan was 6:15 PM (Dec. 8 their time) which was around the time she returned home.

"Hello, Hermione. Just wanted to update you on the case I'm working on. A Muggle detective, L - you might've heard of him - has, through a television broadcast, determined that those heart attacks - yes, those ones, the so-called coincidences - are an act of murder, and that the killer is in the Kanto region of Japan." Harry said.

"_Really? He must be very good._" Hermione said, a note of admiration in her voice.

"Yes." Harry said, mildly disgruntled. "He also has the co-operation of the ICPO, and further, Japan's NPA. Which is more than can be said for me." Harry paused to collect his thoughts. "Anyway, I haven't determined whether Kira - that's what they're calling the killer - is Muggle or wizard. As such, I've devised a small experiment, and would like your help..."

"_What do you need? And it'd better be reasonable._" Hermione said.

"Nothing too complicated. Just some photographs of one of Azkaban's prisoners, one sentenced to the Kiss or the Veil. You see, my plan is thus..." And Harry proceeded to outline his 'experiment.'

Through Japan's NHK Wizarding channel, using the regional Kanto broadcast center of it, he would have them broadcast a message, once every hour, a short news story on the escape of one of Azkaban's prisoners, how he is suspected to be in the Kanto region of Japan (showing photographs), and a reminder to, if sighted, call a bogus phone number Harry would have temporarily set up.

Then, should the prisoner die of a heart attack at any point within those 24 hours, then it would be outright proof that Kira is a wizard. Should the prisoner not be killed, then the same message will be broadcast, more or less, on the NHK's Muggle station, General TV, in Kanto.

"_And do you actually have the support of the Japanese Ministry?_" Hermione asked and Harry's face drained of color. "Err, not yet."

"_Ah._" Hermione commented. "_Well, get their Ministry's co-operation and I'll get the photographs you need._"_  
><em>

"Yes, Hermione." Harry chanted. "How's Teddy?"

"_He was fine the last time I saw him._"

"When was that?"

"_The day you left._"

"How is he now?" Harry broached.

"_How should I know? Call Andromeda if you want to know._" She replied with a huff of irritation.

"Right. Good talking to you again, and thank you Hermione. I'll owe you one." Harry said.

"_Yes, yes you will._" Hermione said. "_Bye, Harry._" And with that Harry shut his phone, grinning. That was that. Now, come morning, he'd need merely to arrange it with the Japanese Ministry come daylight. He put his phone up and put his glasses back on, staring at the expanded files.

_Time._ The word rang in his mind like a seething insult to his intelligence. He took a closer look at the time of death and a startling realization struck him. They matched what a student's off-time from school would be. Between 4:00 PM and 2:00 AM, with the deaths spread out over a greater time on weekends.

A teenager turned killer, Harry thought to himself, thoroughly unhappy with the idea. _Because Voldemort wasn't bad enough_. Still, it seemed a distinct possibility: a student of one of Japan's schools. Japan's primary wizard school was, if he remembered correctly, called Mahoutokoro.

It made sense, Harry thought. Only criminals had been murdered, if it was a teenager, it indicated one with a strong sense of justice and a hatred for crime and whatever Kira termed as evil. It wasn't an impossibility for Kira to be a student, almost anything was possible.

And, given Kira's reaction to L's broadcast, this indicated a childish personality and mindset, but also an intelligent one... but not so intelligent as to leave L's plan to play its course.

Harry grinned. He was getting closer by the day.

* * *

><p>Daybreak.<p>

Harry grinned. The file had additionally contained the location of the Japanese Ministry, just in case. It was located on a small island classified by the Muggle as uninhabited, Mageshima, in the Osumi Islands. The fact that it had the word 'mage' in it was a big clue as well.

Harry conjured a brief piece of paper and pulled out a pen, quickly writing 'At the Japanese Ministry, be back soon' on it, in case Gio was to wake up early. He turned on his heel and Apparated...

...and he landed in a lobby that vaguely resembled the Atrium, but with much more Oriental styling. He headed towards the security check.

"Wand?" The man at the check asked in Japanese. Harry passed his wand over. "Eleven inch, phoenix feather core, holly wood. Harry Potter, is it?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, but I am currently going under the alias Quill Betram." Harry said with a flash of his I.D. in fluent Japanese. The man nodded, handing Harry his wand back. Harry headed through the check towards a receptionist's desk.

"I need to speak with your Minister for Magic." Harry said.

"Name?" The receptionist asked politely.

"Quill Bertram." Harry replied. "This is urgent."

"Make an appointment, Quill-san." The receptionist said.

"How long would that take?" Harry frowned.

"A week, tops." The receptionist replied.

Harry sighed. "Alright... in actuality, Quill Bertram is an alias. I am in fact Harry Potter, and I am telling you that I have urgent business to speak to the Minister about. Immediately." He stared at her square in the eye.

The receptionist's eyes widened. Looks like his name had clout even in Japan. "Of course, Potter-sama." The receptionist said, turning to a microphone. "A Mr. Harry Potter-san to see the Minister immediately. Urgent business."

Harry nodded in satisfaction and headed to the elevator. They, too, were more spacious than British ones. Harry quietly hummed to himself as the elevator went down. The very bottom floor contained the Minister's office.

"Floor Ten, Minister for Magic and Supporting Staff." A female voice said as the elevator stopped there. Harry exited and headed down the hall, looking for the door that said "Minister for Magic" on it. Harry found it soon and knocked.

"Who is it?" A male voice came out.

"Harry Potter." He replied.

"Enter." Harry entered, closing the door behind him, approaching the desk. The Minister stood up and shook his hand. "Have a seat, Potter-san."

Harry nodded and sat down. The Japanese Minister for Magic, Hidoki Sekinra, was rather on the short side and seemed a bit nervous.

"Now, what is your business here? I heard it was urgent." The man said, sitting down.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "You have heard of Kira, I hope. I'm trying to find the culprit of responsible. I am currently trying to find out rather the person or group responsible are wizards or muggles. As such, I have devised a plan to figure this out."

Sekinra was frowning. "Potter-san, this Kira person seems to be a Muggle issue. Why should we involve ourselves?"

"Because, Sekinra-san, there is a distinct possibility that Kira is a wizard. I aim to find that out. If Kira is a wizard, my job is made much easier, if not, things will be much harder than I expected." Harry explained.

"Alright, Potter-san, explain your plan."

Harry grinned and proceeded to outline the entire plan. "...however, I require your Ministry's support." Harry said. "Sekinra-sama." He added.

"That is well thought out." Sekinra was forced to admit. "Very well. I shall have NHK arrange for it. Will October 11th work for the broadcast?"

Harry's eyes widened. "That soon, Sekinra-sama? That will work excellently." He said, standing up. "Thank you."

"Thank you. Best of luck on your case, Potter-san." Sekinra said, also standing up and shaking hands again. With that, Harry exited the office and shook his head. "Honorifics. I'll get a migraine one of these days..." He muttered, apparating back to the hotel room.

Gio, he could sense, had woken up and probably headed down to eat.

* * *

><p>...three days later, Harry was forced to admit that no, Kira was probably not a wizard, no, he was not a student of Mahoutokoro, and yes, all signs pointed to a signs pointed to a high school student, probably in a private academy of some sort.<p>

The prisoner, Aldrew Gant, had indeed died of heart attack. Kira could kill wizards after all.

Harry sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. He was at a stalemate, a player in game that only existed between two people. It was not a comfortable situation to be in. He got up, putting a quick Notice-Me-Not on himself before leaving and apparating away.


	5. Meeting

_No, there won't be any romance in this story, mostly because I can't really write romance. If I was to try, the whole story would probably be ruined as a result. Given how well it's going, I shall not risk ruination. Also, I'm going to be going back and fixing the timeline. That's why this is chapter four, not chapter five._

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<strong>  
><em>-Chapter Four: Meeting-<em>

* * *

><p>Harry frowned at the piece of information in front of him. Ever since midnight, criminals - ones already imprisoned - had been dying, one every hour, on the hour. It certainly poked some holes into his theory that Kira was a student. Almost as though it was a reaction. Harry was sure it was deliberate.<p>

But it was impossible: Kira couldn't read minds, and Harry hadn't put any of his thoughts onto his laptop. Therefore, it couldn't be a reaction to Harry's suspicious.

Searching online, it seemed no one else suspected Kira of being a student. Which meant that the only conclusion was that Harry's Muggle counterpart, L, also harbored that theory. Given that he had the collaboration of the NPA, it wasn't unreasonable to think that Kira had access to the NPA's computer network.

"Morning." Gio called.

Harry shook his head briefly, blinking a few times, and looking around. "It isn't morning, it's afternoon." Harry said. "The window's right over there, you know."

"I hope that isn't a suicide suggestion." Gio chuckled.

Harry glared at the window. "_Never_." He said dramatically before leaping up, file in hand. "Oh yes, you haven't seen this, have you? The latest from the Ministry. Criminals have been dying once every hour." Harry said before outlining his thoughts.

Gio took a moment to digest as they headed to the stairs.

Harry nodded.

"It's a direct challenge to L." Gio said anyway. "Did you say latest from the Ministry? So you do have government backing. Thus no reason to complain." Gio grinned darkly.

Harry glared at the ceiling. "Very complimentary. Much appreciated. We have domestic support, and it's reluctant at best. The name of Harry Potter only goes so far. Especially in Japan. I'm thinking that it's all a ploy, the Japanese and British Ministries have never had good relations. This may just be an attempt to have me put in a good word for them." Harry said.

"I hope you've gotten a house or something. Hotels aren't exactly the most secure place to run an investigation. They have their advantages, certainly, but a house is always preferable."

Harry chuckled. "I've already purchased a place. A two-story. A sitting room, kitchen, dining area, two bedroom, two bathroom, a master, an attic, a basement, et cetera."

Gio's eyebrows rose. It sounded like an excellent house, which was somewhat surprising, given Harry's selections in previous cases, which ranged from mansions to rotting apartments that seemed to be held together purely by duct tape. "And you've seen it? Made sure it's good quality?" He asked as they entered the cafeteria.

"Can't even remember what street it's on." Harry replied casually. "I have it on good authority that it's in excellent condition." Harry flashed a quick thumbs-up to Gio as he began getting his food in the cafeteria.

Gio crossed his fingers and decided to hope for the best and expect the worst.

"You had to wake up late." Harry sighed, observing the cafeteria. It was positively packed. Harry could only see two empty tables and people were already heading to that one. Best move quickly, he reflected.

"You didn't have to wake for me to wake up." Gio said, smirking.

"Yes, but then you'd panic. Maternal instinct." Harry said, grinning darkly. "You'd be asking why I didn't leave a note, and how dare you leave without me, and you nearly gave me a heart attack and so on."

Gio sputtered as they sat down. "...room service?" He asked weakly.

"Nonsense. In a cafeteria, you are surrounded by people. The sound of a community, bustling and active in its mundane affairs. It relaxes my mind." Harry said, gesturing to the crowd. "Some psychological stuff. They call it a Geder-De-Schtalt effect."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you." Gio deadpanned.

"Nope." Harry said cheerfully.

Gio sighed. "When you are old, you will fit the charming barmy old codger role perfectly."

"Thank you... I think." Harry responded, eating his biscuit. They sat in silence for a few minutes, eating their food.

"May I join you?" A calm voice interrupted. Harry looked up to see a disheveled boy, roughly his age if he had to guess, with messy black hair and a slouch, with dark bags under his eyes, and very pale skin. The clothing was a white long-sleeve shirt and blue pants.

Harry got up and looked around. Sure enough, no empty tables. Harry sat back down. "If you must." He grumbled.

"Thank you." The person sat down, in a crouching posture. The plate had roughly seventeen donuts on it at an estimate, each on top of the other, stacked with precision.

Harry was not the only one staring, for Gio was watching with equal fascination.

"Don't mind me." The person said, shifting uncomfortably while taking a bite of donut. "I'm only here for the food."

"At a guess, the food is probably the purpose of this room. Thank you for that shining pearl of wisdom and knowledge, forthwhich we may have never realized independently." Harry said calmly. He stared at the clock.

"Am I unwelcome?" The person asked. "I get the distinct impression that I am not wanted here."

"Please ignore my uncle." Gio said with practiced ease, as the old uncle-and-nephew and been successfully used several times. "He is prone to sarcasm and rudeness."

12:00. Harry's cellphone rang, and it was brought out in the blink of an eye.

* * *

><p>L stared at the person across from him. He was wearing a distinctive blue-on-red striped shirt and had shoulder-length messy hair, although not as messy as L, and had a British accent.<p>

"Another one? Thank you again. Call if there are any re-occurrences." He said, shutting the cellphone and putting it back. "Hiro Kurotai. My nephew, Koan Harada. He is prone to insulting me." Hiro said, offering a hand.

L reluctantly grasped it and shook. "Hideki Ryuuga."

"I highly doubt that." Hiro said genially.

"Sharing my name with a pop singer does have certain disadvantages." L said smoothly.

Hiro nodded. "I bet." And there was an air of familiarity around him as he said it. "Why do you need so many donuts? Surely that much sugar would cause obesity. Might even give you a heart attack. Who knows."

"The brain requires fuel." L said. Mention of heart attacks. Mere coincidence, or something more? Anyone had the possibility to be Kira, especially if they were unusual in some way.

"I see." Hiro said, his tone clearly indicating that he didn't. "Speaking of heart attacks, what do you think of this Kira person?"

Not a coincidence after all. If this was Kira in front of him, it was a deliberate ploy to find out his opinion. On the other hand, Kira had become quite a popular topic of discussion, especially in Japan.

"I think that Kira is just some murderer with a foolish idea of justice." L responded after careful consideration. He couldn't risk revealing his identity as L, the world-famous detective.

"Hmm." Hiro said.

"Your thoughts?" L asked.

Hiro thought for a moment. "Someone that's clearly very intelligent. Idealistic. A very simple, black-and-white view of the world. A serial killer in any case. Beyond that much... I wouldn't know. I'm hardly a criminologist. I'm an accountant."

"No, you're not. You're a traveler." Koan interrupted. "And rich, to boot."

Hiro waved his hand. "Semantics. Technicalities."

"I find it rather hard to believe that a mere accountant would be rich." L said. Who was this person, exactly? He definitely seemed to be hiding something. He definitely sounded smarter than he might appear at first glance, and it was like the mention of Kira, and then of not being a criminologist, was deliberate. Of that he was sure. And the voice of Koan sounded familiar.

"You have much experience in the world of accountancy, then? I certainly don't. The money comes from the family line. Or will, anyway. Both of them." Hiro traded a glance with Koan, who snorted.

"That's not funny, _uncle_." Koan said, making uncle sound like something disgusting and worthless, like pond scum or cockroaches. "Your nephew's voice sounds vaguely familiar." L commented.

* * *

><p>"Your nephew's voice sounds vaguely familiar." Ryuuga added.<p>

That was interesting. Harry could already tell that Ryuuga suspected something, but that? Was this slouching, crouching, baggy-eyed man actually the world-famous L? It was possible.

"My nephew has a very generic voice. He is often mistaken for other people." Harry said, trying to deflect suspicion.

Ryuuga shook his head. "No, I am sure that I've heard it before."

"So am I, but that's because I live with him." Harry replied, standing up. "Good to meet you, Ryuuga-san. Koan, come."

"Yes, uncle." Gio chanted, also getting up. They put the trays on one of the counters before heading out and back up the stairs. It was only natural, more time for conversation. "Your thoughts?"

"He isn't who he says he is." Harry stated.

Gio sighed. "Obviously. It applies equally to you, you know. He's probably L."

"My thoughts exactly." Harry responded. "In which case, with a bit of thought, he'll soon suspect me of being Q. Which will make things... interesting." Harry rubbed his hands together. "I wonder if he's aware of the wizarding world. He might, god forbid, recognize me."

Gio snorted. "Maybe you should get a glamour ring made."

Harry looked visibly repulsed. "Glamour ring? Is - you -"

"No, it isn't - it isn't - no. It changes your appearance. Haven't you heard of them? Used them?" Gio asked, slightly in disbelief.

"Well, there was that one time in Italy... they called them mode l'aspets, though." Harry replied. "That was before you entered my service."

Gio nodded in understanding. "So, when - and how - are you intending to announce your investigation of Kira?"

Harry blinked owlishly. "Who said anything about announcing it?"

"I know you, Harry. You'd want to put pressure on Kira, try and get him to make a mistake, no matter how unlikely you'd think it is." Gio said, looking Harry straight in the eye.

Harry grumbled under his breath. "Perhaps I'll fire you." Harry muttered.

"No, you won't. So, will it be via Internet, newspaper, or broadcast?" Gio asked.

"I haven't decided." Harry said with a yawn.

"So he admits it!" Gio exclaimed with a laugh.

"As you say, as you say, whatever you might say." Harry mumbled, opening the door to the hotel room and collapsing onto the couch.


	6. Connections

_It actually took a bit of deliberation to decide on when to introduce L. Also, to the guest reviewer Dina, may I suggest creating an account here? It would make replying to your reviews easier. Also, thank you to all the reviewers: I'd be unable to continue this without you._

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<br>**_-Chapter Five: Connections-_

* * *

><p>"...and remember to send the file. Starting with the first one, yesterday. Update with every occurrence forthwith." Harry said, shutting his cellphone as he entered the cafeteria.<p>

"I knew you'd tire of the hourly calls." Gio chuckled. "I had been sleeping!" Harry defended. "And it took a while to get back to sleep."

"Actually, I've been quite surprised at how you've managed to consistently be awake for breakfast for here the past few days." Gio said as Harry compared two donuts, one chocolate and one strawberry, before choosing the chocolate one and heading to the table. The place was packed again.

"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are!" Harry said with wide eyes. "If I wasn't experiencing it, I'd believe I was lying." He took a bite of donut, thinking for a moment.

"Did you get the crossword?" Harry asked.

"Yep." Gio said, passing it over to Harry. It was something of a game between them: every Monday, they'd take the new crossword, and challenge each other to solve the other's problems. Most of the time, Harry would win, but every so often, Gio would take victory.

Harry looked over the crossword. "They're really coming up with more difficult ones now."

Gio looked up to Harry incredulously. "More difficult - ? Most people struggle with half of them. Okay, how about this: seven-letter word for idiot."

"Dawlish." Harry said immediately. Gio snorted. "Well, it's true." Harry said, looking up. "Oh hello, Ryuuga. Have a seat. We're just playing crosswords. Ok, Koan, five-letter word for cheat, beyond cheat.

"Fudge." Gio said. "Certainly explains a lot." Harry said, eyes glittering with amusement.

Gio snorted, trying to contain his laughter. Harry grinned.

Ryuuga looked between them, confused. "What's amusing?"

"I once knew a fellow named Fudge. He wasn't... competent, you could say." Harry said.

"Nine-letter word. I throw my weight around in North London." Gio said.

Harry considered. "Islington. I - I; sling - throw; ton - weight." Harry said.

"Mmph." Gio said, put out. "Okay, smart guy. I live in a Scottish community on the south shore of Firth of Forth in the early 1900s." Gio smirked at Harry's puzzled face. "Oh, very clever. Edinburgh."

Gio blinked. "Sorry?"

"Early 1900s, Edwardian era, thus, Ed. In, easily explainable. Burgh, archaic spelling of borough, a town or constituency represented by a Member of Parliament." Harry said with a grin. "Honestly, they're not even trying..."

"Yes, well..." Gio mumbled.

"You're very smart, Kurotai-san." Ryuuga observed. "Not many people would guess that."

Harry shrugged.

"It's always pathetically simple on Mondays, anyway." Gio muttered, pocketing his crossword book.

Harry snorted. "That is the excuse used from the dawn of time by those that are unable to complete the crossword. Stumped while the superior intelligence solves each one easily, the Neanderthal throws the book over his shoulder, proclaiming that it is always pathetically simple on Mondays anyway."

Gio glared at Harry with the force of three hundred blades.

"Why must you insist on so much sugar?" Harry said, turning his attention to Ryuuga, who had several donuts stacked on his plate.

"Does it bother you?" Ryuuga said, taking a bite of one. "Sugar is the fuel of the brain. Without it, my mental processing abilities would operate 45% slower."

"It's ethically disturbing." Harry deadpanned.

"Mmm." Ryuuga said. "I calculate the probabilities of your origins in a culture where consuming vast quantities of sugar is ethically disturbing to be around 4.3%."

"Perhaps. Perhaps." Harry said. "Why are you in Japan, Ryuuga-san? You don't sound like a native."

"Neither do you." Ryuuga countered. "I came to experience the culture. What about you? You do not sound like a native, either."

"My quest for exotic cheeses took me to Japan." Harry said, wearing the grin of a maniac. It was the most vaguely plausible yet amusing reason he could think of.

"I doubt that." Ryuuga stated.

"Ah, doubt, the eternal foe." Harry mumbled. "Oh, god."

"Finally discovered religion, uncle?" Gio grinned darkly.

Harry blinked owlishly.. He was not the religious type. Gods might exist, certainly, but that didn't mean Harry was going to bother with them. "No, Gio. I was talking in the evocative provocative, not in the definitive absolute ablative. You should know that."

Gio nodded. "The time you tried to direct a play. Not enough cast, a stage too small, and you as the director. And then Malfoy showed up."

Harry frowned. "It's not my fault he decided to point out every little flaw."

"Then you started arguing. Chaos and destruction. Sinkholes and fire." Gio chuckled.

Harry glowered at Gio. "The place needed a new roof." He mumbled.

* * *

><p>"The place need a new roof." Hiro mumbled.<p>

L contemplated his next move. He was quite curious to see if this man was Q, yet on the other hand, it was entirely possible that it was all a long series of coincidences. Then again, he'd never believed in coincidence. "I have a question."

"Hmm?" Hiro said.

"Are you Q?" L asked, staring at them passively. Hiro exchanged a glance with Koan. "You owe me ten billion yen, Gio." He chuckled.

"Knew I shouldn't have taken that bet." The person whom he was now 89% sure was Giovanni. That was as much confirmation as needed. He was sure that this man was Q and that the other was Giovanni.

"Are you L?" Q asked.

"Yes." L replied. There was no point in being dishonest. "But do not call me that in public. Refer to me only as Ryuzaki."

"Can do. I go under the alias of Quill." Q replied. "You wouldn't happen to have changed your mind on my proposal at the ICPO meeting? The old _operam adiutricem et cooperationem_?*

L considered. While it was true that at the ICPO he had said he was unwillingly to work with others, adding on "of my caliber" as a courtesy, he hadn't truly believed that Q's abilities were anywhere near equal to his own.

On the other hand, seeing him in person, and knowing that he'd successfully deduced his identity as L based on mere scraps of information was impressive and spoke of a sharp intellect and a bright mind. As good as the NPA was, none of them were as smart as he was.

Of course, that didn't mean Q was as smart as he was, but given what he had heard - admittedly not as much as he would've liked - the probability of it, he calculated, was somewhere around 78%.

"Come to my room. In public is not the best place to discuss this." L said after careful consideration.

Q nodded, exchanging a glance with Giovanni. "I can only imagine how an eavesdropper might interpret this." Giovanni snorted.

Nevertheless, they headed up to his room.

"How much of the Kira case have you deduced?" L asked immediately as he took a seat.

Q thought about it for only a briefest of moments before replying. "Everything you have and possibly more. We know that Kira is a student, is in Kanto, Japan, probably Tokyo, can only kill if he has knowledge of the name and face of a criminal, and starting at 1:00 AM yesterday, has been killing criminals on the hour, thus proving the time of death can be controlled, rigidly so. A direct challenge to the theory that Kira is a student." Q exchanged a glance with Giovanni.

"Which leads me to believe that he has access to information on the NPA's computer network, since you've probably already harbored that theory. That or he has access to my thought processes and decided to act only two days later."

L blinked. Two days later? That was faster than _he'd_ thought of it. The percentage jumped to 86%. And there was the distinct possibility that Q was smarter than him, as well.

"And you deduced all of this with only information available to the public?" L asked, impressed.

"More or less. I had a bit of help." Q shrugged. "To be quite honest, I probably should have realized the time of death thing sooner, but I have a penchant for occasionally missing the obvious."

That just about confirmed L's suspicions: Q was as smart, if not smarter, than he was. If he was to die while working on the Kira case - and he anticipated that it would happen at some point, this was no ordinary criminal - then Q would be able to take up the mantle of L easily if he wanted to.

But that was more in the future. He didn't think he'd die any time soon. This was a time for information gathering. "What is your real name, Q?"

"If you can not recognize me by face, then you won't be able to recognize me by name. Nevertheless, that is information I will not divulge. And the same, I imagine, goes for your real name." Q said calmly, staring at him. "However, Gio is not so careful."

"A risk, yes." Giovanni agreed.

"And you are not his nephew." L stated.

Giovanni nodded. "No, I am not. I am a gentleman's gentleman."

"My valet, in shorter, simpler words." Q added. "Though he goes far and beyond what one would ordinarily expect." Q yawned. "My apologies, I am an insomniac. I take my leave."

Gio nodded and followed behind Q as he left.

"Interesting." L muttered to himself.

* * *

><p><em>operam adiutricem et cooperationem* <em>Meaning "collaboration and cooperation."

I would've had this chapter up sooner, but there was a nasty storm and a power outage. It only came back yesterday, around evening.

Wow, 20 reviews for my little Harry Potter/Death Note crossover, and I've only done a prologue and four chapters. Wow. Thank you very much to everyone who's reviewed.


	7. Strategy

_And here is the new chapter. I hope you enjoy..._

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<strong>  
><em>-Chapter Six: Strategy-<em>

* * *

><p>Harry grinned smugly as he sat down that morning, sipping his tea. The case was proceeding well, and so far, there had been no interruptions from Kingsley requesting his assistance on some rogue Dark wizard or witch that the Auror department's Search and Intelligence Office couldn't find.<p>

To be fair, they weren't incompetent. In fact, they were reasonably skilled at their abilities, and Harry would've never solved the Twycroft Kidnappings of 2005 without their aid. However, they weren't on par with private investigators, so once every four to six months, Kingsley would call Harry and request his expertise. Muggle-haters, muggle-baiters, psychopaths, kidnappers, rogue Dark wizards or witches, the occasional escapee from Nalnivern...

"So, we won't be staying at the hotel any longer?" Gio asked, interrupting his thought.

"Nope." Harry replied. "My curiosity is satisfied." Harry lifted his hand and snatched a piece of paper out of the air. The paper wasn't there before - Harry had summoned it.

Harry held it in between two fingers, looking at it, then throwing it to Gio. "That is where we shall be staying."

Gio read it and raised his eyebrows. "You might've made a good choice for once."

Harry glared, and Gio chuckled. "We ought to invite L to tea. I found the most wonderful shop, too."

"And here we go with the implications..." Gio said suggestively.

"Shut your trap." Harry cut him off. "You may find it amusing in some vague context that your deranged mind has produced, but as for I, an upstanding, timelessly intelligent and impeccably dressed citizen of Magical Britain, find nothing suspicious, strange, or unusual about a meeting between friends to enjoy some tea. If you wish to engage in such rumormongering, I shall be only to happy to take you to a-"

"I get the idea." Gio said dryly. "Humor, Harry, humor. I didn't know you had such a bigoted mindset." Gio said, staring straight into Harry's eyes.

Harry glared menacingly. "If you want a bigot, go find Draco Malfoy. Anyway, we must pack, not argue." Harry said as he stood up, heading to his room. He pulled out his wand and muttered "_Pack._" With incredibly speed, Harry's briefcases opened themselves, and his possessions sped into them, packing themselves as tightly as possible, with the briefcases closing on it.

Harry did the same to Gio's possessions, taking the briefcases into the sitting room. Gio grabbed everything and placed his hand on Harry's arm, and the apparated away to their new house.

* * *

><p>After finding out for sure that Hiro was Q, and sharing information, L's curiosity was immediately piqued. He did some research on Q, but found relatively little - he was an unknown, virtually, who'd only started solving cases back in 2000, and to that extend had only taken on 23 cases, most of them in Britain, although each one had been solved.<p>

In fact, L recognized one case - the Twycroft Kidnappings. Given how close it was to Winchester, he had nearly taken up the case himself, but before he could do so, it had already been solved by Q, with the aid of some anonymous government officials.

He did wonder if Q might've once been a Wammy's House child. He doubted it, Q wasn't one a letter assigned to any of the children at Wammy's House, and Quill wasn't a name assigned to any of them, either. Then again, not all Wammy children used the name or letter they'd been given at the House.

Despite the unlikelihood of it, he'd have Wammy contact Roger about it.

* * *

><p>Wammy sighed. The description L had given him was relatively undetailed. Black hair, pale-ish skin, unusual sleeping habits, likely graduated between 1996 to 2001. Sleeping habits definitely narrowed it down, but he still thought that it was highly unlikely.<p>

L had an excellent memory, and if he didn't remember anyone with that description, then it was probable that Quill Bertram had never been to Wammy's House and had, likelier than not, never heard of it.

Nevertheless, he had asked Roger. There was no student matching that student, except perhaps the boy given the name Vantii, but his sleeping habits weren't, technically speaking, strange at all.

On the other hand, he could've sworn that Roger had indeed heard of Quill Bertram...

* * *

><p>Light was, as usual, doing his homework, by which he meant that he was scanning the television for criminals to kill. So far, his plan to eliminate criminals was working. People were recognizing that Kira was justice, that someone out there was punishing those who do evil. He would become a god, a god of an ideal world.<p>

The only opponent standing in his way was L. Or at least, that's what he thought right up until the television cut out and a sans-serif Q appeared on-screen.

"Look at this, Light." Ryuk said with a cackle. "I think you might have another detective on your trail."

Light looked up.

"Good morning. This is Q. I am a private detective that has taken up the Kira case. Whoever you are, Kira, I will find you, find out how you kill, and then make sure it never happens again. Consider this a warning. Turn yourself and your method of killing in, within this month, and you will not be imprisoned or executed. After that, all bets are off. I will find you. That is a guarantee."

The Q disappeared and what was broadcasting continued. A shiver went down Ryuk's spine.

Light stood up. "Another one? How many will defy me? First L, now Q..." He sat back down and contemplated. It could be an elaborate plot on the part of L to try and put pressure on him, force him to make a mistake. On the other hand, it could still be another detective that also used a letter motif and voice masker to conceal his identity.

If Q was just an alias of L, he had nothing to worry about. If Q was another detective, then it was impossible that he knew more than L did.

He had nothing to worry about. He'd take care of them both in time. And then he would be the ruler of an ideal world.

* * *

><p>"...And there you have it." Harry said with a self-satisfied smirk, staring at the television in the cafe. "This should put some pressure on Kira. With any luck, Kira will make some mistakes."<p>

"An admirable theory." L said. "I'm sure you've realized this, but there is a 78% chance of Kira thinking that you are merely an alias of myself to come to that very goal."

Harry turned to L. It was unlikely to put much pressure on Kira, he knew that. But himself being an alias of L as part of some scheme? There were plots, but something like that was much too complicated. He said as much to L.

"True, but nevertheless, the possibility remains. And Kira will come to the conclusion, that even if you are another detective, that it is impossible for you to know more about it than me." L responded.

"Mm." Harry said. It was very likely that Kira would simply do exactly as he was doing before, without any modifications to his plan, doing just as he was doing when there was only L on his tail. Either way, even with the foolish idealism, the black-and-white view of the world, even power to kill, Kira was still only human.

But a very intelligent one. They weren't dealing with an average person. They were dealing with no more and no less than a genius, a child prodigy, one with a high I.Q. and one that, at school, probably achieved magnificent grades. He'd have to go through a register of high school students in the Kanto area to see if he could narrow down some candidates, and from there, work backwards through those candidates' previous school history.

"Your taskforce getting anywhere?" Harry asked.

"Beyond the hundreds of people claiming to know Kira and the few claiming to be Kira?" L asked rhetorically.

"Forget I asked." Harry muttered.

"They are however the ones that brought the times of death to my attention." L added.

"Hmm." Harry hummed. "Nothing new?"

"Obviously not."

"Good to meet you here irregardless." Harry said, getting up and removing the Muffliato.

"Quite."

Harry left through the door and apparated away, a Notice-Me-Not on him.

Inside the shop, a black-haired man grinned. "He is indeed here."


	8. Diversion

_I've laid the stones for a particular plotline... and while you speculate on that, here's something I've been planning to include since Harry's first meeting with L._

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<strong>  
><em>-Chapter Six: Diversion-<em>

* * *

><p>"Nothing new." Harry sighed, collapsing onto the armchair. The house Harry had purchased had, after a few days, been completely furnished. Couches, chairs, tables, eating wares, cabinets, and books from sources from as wide a range as Tolkien to Kafka to Nietzche to Thorbecke to Lysandro.<p>

It was then outfitted with the best technology Harry could afford, with the highest level of security, including some that were magical in nature. Computer wards that Harry had a specialist company install, as he was unable - and uninterested - in doing so himself.

"To be expected. This will be a long case." Harry muttered. The room was empty, as Gio had ordinary sleeping habits, unlike Harry. Harry yawned, he'd been up since 3 in the morning a day ago. It was December 15th, and Harry had been, mostly, reading. In particular, researching some old books.

In old books he hoped to find some old rituals. Rituals that could help him locate Kira - if Muggle, then it was done through supernatural or magical means, and thus could be detected through some old ritual. Getting the books, old, rare and often at one point banned, was the main difficulty, and as Harry was a private detective and thus had an active career, he couldn't get most of them himself. He had a Canadian friend of his find some of them.

He yawned again. He was - finally - getting tired. It had taken long enough, and when an insomniac with Harry's variation, a magical version of insomnia, which was, peculiarly enough, mostly prevalent in the most powerful witches and wizards, though Dumbledore was a known exception.

His phone rang. Harry pulled it out and opened it. It was Kingsley. Harry flipped it open. "What is it, Kingsley?" Harry snapped, irritated. He'd been just about ready to go to sleep.

"_A situation has arisen._" Kingsley said, cutting straight to the details. "_Seven es__capees from Nainevern: Fion Paren, Stephen Thomasson, Dylas Berent, Gary Paeqweu, Allan Bense, Nathaniel Bass, and Sebastian Blair._" Kingsley paused.

"Let me guess, I need to find them." Harry said dryly.

"_Shut up, Potter._" Kingsley said, uncharacteristically tense. "_They've kidnapped several magical children. Among them your godson. They're in Winchester and want a ransom. What's worse, they're located in an abandoned building very close to a Muggle orphanage._"

Any remaining vestiges of tiredness Harry may have had were eradicated. "My godson? Teddy? What the hell was he doing in Winchester?"

"_School field trip._"

"In the middle of December?"

"_Potter, there are more important things to worry about. Crinchton will be at your place in about five minutes with all the details we could muster on short notice as well as an International Portkey. They want the ransom by 7:00. That's about 3 hours. Fail, and they said they will cut the throats of one of the children, one every half hour, starting at 7:00._" Kingsley finished, hanging up.

Harry dropped the phone on the ground and ran to his room. He replaced his ordinary coat with a special, warded one, put on some dragonhide gloves and boots, and sturdy jeans as well as his warded hat. From his Potions cabinet he took an energy potion and drank the entire bottle - he would need a lot of energy.

He headed back out of the hallway just as Crinchton appeared with the papers, which Harry snatched out of his hand, looking through it. "Who's arranging the squad?" Harry asked, not looking up from the papers as he sat down.

"Wycliffe is arranging a team, sir." Crinchton said respectfully.

"You can always count on Wycliffe." Harry muttered. "Cause of escape?"

Crinchton blinked and mumbled. "Come on, man, I don't have all day." Harry snapped, irritated. A side effect of energy potions - one becomes more easily irritated.

"Boat. The prisoners got ahold of the Auror's wands, knocked them unconscious, and escaped. We believe it was collaborative. The SIO believe that they want to get out of Britain. As they understand, the prisoners believe that you will do as they wish to get your godson back, regardless of consequences or governmental decisions." Crinchton said, flustered.

"Ah." Harry said. "Portkey?"

"Here, sir." Crinchton said, handing over a boot. "It will take you directly to Wycliffe. Standard activation words."

"Thank you. _Auferina maginuiane_." Harry said, disappearing in a brief flash of light.

It was just then that Crinchton realized that he hadn't brought one for himself. He had made the mistake of bringing one, thinking that Potter would remember that he, too, needed to get to Britain. "Sir?" Crinchton asked of the empty room. He received no response.

* * *

><p>"Potter, as early as expected." Wycliffe said, turning around immediately as Harry landed. "Where's Crinchton?"<p>

Harry's eyes widened. "Ah. Well."

"Not to worry, he'll find his way back eventually." Wycliffe waved his hand. "Anyway. We learned of the kidnapping around three quarters of an hour ago. The SIO has been getting as many details as possible, but there's been difficulties. Record-keeping on Azkaban was poor until about three-four years ago, when the ICW steamrollered everything."

Harry gave a brief shudder in sympathy. He'd stayed out of Britain for the most part while the ICW proceeded to thoroughly change, improve, and revolutionize the Ministry and Diagon Alley. Britain had been the laughingstock of Magical Europe for its tradionalism and adherence to things like blood for many decades.

The second rise of Voldemort, with Voldemort managing to infiltrate the government and control it, was pretty much the last straw. If it was Germany's Chancellery, one could debate that there wouldn't have been a first rise of Voldemort, let alone a second. So, the ICW gave Magical Britain two years to get used to not having the threat of Voldemort lingering, and after that, brought Britain up to date. It was informally referred to as the great ICW steamrollering.

"Anyway. We have just under three hours." Wycliffe said. "I've arranged a team - Crown, Bryne, Adamsson, the usual." Wycliffe gestured.

"Good." Harry said, walking down the corridor. "I assume the protections on prisoner transportation will be improved?"

"The SIO already has an independent team assigned to it." Wycliffe grinned. "Thank god for the Search and Intelligence Office. Without them, Britain would be a right mess."

"Very true." Harry nodded.

"Anyway, Potter. Get those kids back safe. Britain's reputation is only finally starting to become worth something. An incident like this could blow the progress out of the water." Wycliffe said, pointing to the door where the squad was.

"Ever the diplomat, Wycliffe." Harry said dryly, gears already turning. "Location of building?"

"Winchester, seven house away and across from an Muggle orphanage and surrounding empty field." Wycliffe replied immediately. "I'll leave you to it." Wycliffe said with a mock bow.

"Right, let's begin..." Harry said, looking at the map. They began to plan the attack.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, it was ready. Crown and Adamson would capture and secure the first floor. Bryne would set up wards so none of the Muggles would get suspicious, particularly the orphanage. Some might pass it off as childish fantasy, but too many kids saying the same thing, and someone was bound to notice.<p>

Swanst and Peris would take the second floor. Harry would take the third floor, where the kids and escapees were.

Harry would head in first and silently set up a few wards to trick the escapees into thinking that Harry really was going to give them the money. While Harry bought time, the others would enter and secure the two floors, while Byrne set up wards for the inevitable duel, on Harry's signal. Then, Harry would set up wards around the kids and try to get over there. A second team had been set up to Apparate in and get the kids to safety on Harry's signal.

A third team had been set up around the building and, indeed, around the entire street to ensure that no one got out of the building, and if they did, no one was harmed. A detachment of the third team was set up around the Muggle orphanage.

Perhaps it was overkill, but in Harry's mind, it was better to be over prepared then under prepared.

Harry entered the building silently, and he sent the first signal out - a yellow spark. That was the cue for Byrne to begin setting up the wards. He took a left down the hallway and traipsed up the stairs. He sent the second signal - an orange spark. Crown, Adamsson, Swanst, and Peris entered. Harry finally reached the third floor and quickly set up a few basic privacy wards, and then knocked.

The door opened. "Potter. Good." A brown-haired, straggly, and lanky-looking wizard sneered. _Thomasson,_ Harry identified him. "Drop your wand."

Harry pulled out his wand - or rather, an identical wooden fake, and dropped it on the ground, holding his hand up. Thomasson picked it up. "Enter."

Harry did so, looking around the place. Only six escapees and six children were there. Three prisoners - Berent, Paeqweu, and Blair were guarding them. Berent, a white-haired wizard roughly in his 60s. Paeqweu, black haired and black skinned, dressed in rags and starved. Bass, brown-haired, and muscled. Each one held a wand, and the children seemed to be unconscious.

Four were missing. Possibly dead. Unlikely, but a possibility - one that Harry hadn't considered. He mentally berated himself, having not planned for all possibilities in the rush of the moment. Teddy, thankfully, was among them. Thomasson took the fake wand to the window and threw it out.

The missing criminals were Paren and Bense.

Thomasson stuck a wand to Harry's neck. "No funny business, Potter. We don't want any trouble and we don't want to hurt anyone either."

"Did you say that during your infamous attempted robbery of Gringotts, too?" Harry said.

Thomasson snarled and pressed his wand on Harry's neck. "Your mouth will get you killed one of these days, Potter. If you can't keep your fat lip under control, this will be that day." Thomasson took the wand off Harry's neck, and he rubbed the spot. "Ouch."

"Have you brought the money?" A calm voice interrupted. _Bass_, Harry thought. He was right: Bass was there. A calm, sneering white-haired wizard that looked to be in his 60s, thin and lanky, and the prison clothing was in surprisingly good condition - still worn and shabby, but not the filthy rags Harry had seen of other escapees of Nainevern.

"Yes." Harry said, pulling out a Galleon. Leprechaun gold, specially procured by the SIO for that very purpose. Harry tossed the coin to Bass, who plucked it out the air with the reflexes of a former Quidditch Seeker. Bass had played for Puddlemere, after all.

Bass stuck it in his mouth and bit down on it. After a moment, the leprechaun gold cracked and dissipated. "Leprechaun gold."

"True." Harry acknowledged, pulling out a real Galleon and tossing it over. Bass repeated the motion. "Thomasson, if you will." Clearly, Bass was the leader among them.

Blair, Berent, and Paeqweu moved away from the children towards the other half of the room. The children happened to be near the window, broken, which Harry had been gambling upon for the plan to work. A breeze of air wafted in.

Thomasson headed to the other side of the room.

"You know, I'm quite shocked that your in charge of this, Bass. Didn't you have a son, yourself? A few years ago? Wouldn't he be, oh, 12 or 13 right now?" Harry asked calmly.

Bass's face did not change. "Needs are as they must, Potter. You must not have done your research well. My son was taken from me as an infant, stripped of his name, and sent to an orphanage."

"I know that." Harry replied. "What orphanage, incidentally?"

"How is this relevant, Potter?"

"Humor me."

"The Orphanage at Godric's Hollow. What happened to him thereafter, I do not know." Bass responded. "The money, Potter." Harry sent out the third signal, a red spark.

There were six loud cracks as the wizards apparated in, a cloud of smoke Harry created to mask them, and then there were six more loud cracks as they disapparated. The cloud of smoke cleared.

"I sincerely hope you didn't think I was stupid enough to actually pay the ransom." Harry said, wand out.

"We still have two hostages. They will be on their way out of Britain at this point." Bass said, pulling out his wand. Berent apparated away, likely to join the two others. Thomasson pulled out his wand, as did Blair, and Paeqweu.

"You can never trust a Potter." Thomasson snarled, hand twitching. Clearly, waiting for Bass's command. "Let's kill him!"

"Just one more question. Why ransom? Why not theft?" Harry asked.

Bass smirked. "From what I've heard, Potter, you are a competent and internationally-known detective. Do use your head."

Thomasson threw the first spell. "Aim to kill!" Thomasson hissed.

Instinct from Harry's short time at the Auror Office kicked in. "Stupefy!" Harry shouted, aiming his wand at Thomasson, who flicked his wand. The stunner bounced off the shield.

"Swanst! Peris!" Harry shouted, already knowing they were probably on there way. Whatever privacy wards were around the room had already broken. He could only hope that, should the duel become much more dangerous, or worse, head outside, that those wards, around the building, would hold.

* * *

><p><em>And we end on a cliffhanger. I'm quite excited to write this, and I hope you enjoyed. We will rejoin the action next chapter... <em>

_Wow. 7 chapters and a total of 33 reviews. Truly, I am shocked. That's a lot of reviews for a Harry Potter/Death Note crossover, considering the relative rarity of them. Even moreso considering that my past fanfiction has been... well... crap. Clearly, I must be doing something right. -SF._


	9. Holes

_Look, I got the chapter number right! One of the chief ideas I'm playing with in this story is the idea that magic, too much, too little, uncontrolled, or untamed, can have consequences. Anyway, let's continue..._

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<br>**_-Chapter Eight: Holes-_

* * *

><p>Swanst, Peris, Crown, and Adamsson burst into the room in a gust of wind. Harry had worked with these particular Aurors before, several times. They made a good team and knew each other well. Harry passed Thomasson to Crown, Peris and Swanst took Paeqweu and Berent, and Harry himself took the leader of the gang, Bass.<p>

"Aim to disarm or knock unconscious only!" Harry shouted, shooting a stunner at Bass, whom shielded. "Tell me, Bass, why were you sent to Nainevern in the first place?"

"Trumped-up charges. Illegal potions experiments, they claimed. The second rise of Voldemort had just ended. And this was before the ICW stepped in." Bass replied. "_Aculeus_!"

"_Protego_!" Harry flicked his wand. "And you've been waiting for release ever since?"

"If you're trying to make me quit and go with you back to prison, Potter, it's not working!" Bass replied, shooting two curses as him. Harry hopped out of the way. "So something similar to the Sirius Black case?"

"And you'd have so much familiarity with that." Bass snarled, aiming a Sectumsempra at him.

"Interesting thing." Harry commented as he jumped out of the way. "You're not shooting fatal curses at me, Bass. Which leads me to believe that my psychological tricks are working." Harry cast a Shield Charm and shot two jinxes at Bass. "You'll notice I'm not using any fatals either."

"Not a chance!" Bass responded.

"For a man in his sixties, in prison for nearly seven years, you're very good." Harry remarked. "Not as good as me, though, Bass." Harry said, ducking. "Did you really arrange this?"

"It was Berent's idea." Bass replied.

Harry's eyebrows raised. "And you listened? Berent is a psychopath."

"In every way." Bass agreed. "To put it simply, Potter, I want freedom, and I want my son."

"Ahh." Harry said, shooting a Joint Displacement Hex at Bass' left knee. "So you figured that kidnapping the children of other people and demanding the money of a wizard infamous for never giving up and never obeying the bad guys was a suitable idea?"

"I was desperate." Bass answered, gnashing his teeth, one knee on the ground.

"That explains the holes in your plan." Harry grinned. "Let's make a deal, Bass. You help me get the other children back, and I'll help you earn - well, perhaps not freedom, but a shorter sentence. Let's say seven months."

Bass considered for a moment. "You have a deal, Potter." Harry flicked his wand and lifted the hex, and Bass turned on his heel and apparated away. Harry apparated away as well.

"So where are they?" Harry said, landing just outside the building. He looked up and saw flashes of blue, yellow, and once, even a green light.

"Damn. My apparation is rusty." Bass growled. "I have no idea what Berent did. He said that Bense and Paren should take two of the kids as back-up. Where they are, I have no idea."

"Bugger." Harry said, pulling out his cellphone and calling Wycliffe.

"_Ah! Potter. Success, by any chance?_" Wycliffe asked.

"Unfortunately not. As you should know, you damn idiot."

"_I have other things that require my attention, as well._" Wycliffe responded amiably.

"Yes. Well. I'm going to need a fourth squad to track down three criminals and two children. One of those criminals is a psychopath. I've reason to believe they're still in Britain. Also have a team of Obliviators ready, just in case." Harry instructed quickly.

"_What's going on?_" Wycliffe said, worried.

"There's not enough time, Wycliffe! Just do as I say. Get a fourth team ready, send them down to the building. I'll explain everything when this business is finished." Harry practically snarled, shutting his cellphone and apparating back into the building.

"POTTER!" Thomasson bellowed when he saw him. "Impedimenta!" Harry cast, just as Crown cast "Stupefy!" Thomasson didn't stand a chance in his blind rage: he hit the ground unconscious.

"Very good, Crown." Harry complimented.

"The credit is yours, I'm sure." Crown replied smoothly. Harry apparated back down to Bass. "Those three will handle the rest." Harry said, unnecessarily. "Bass, with me."

Bass obeyed. Harry walked down the street. "You there!" Harry said, shouting to one of the wizards that formed a warding ring. Harry pulled a potions vial and lid out of his pocket, and pointed a wand to his head, concentrating. He extracted the memory and placed it in the vial. "Take this to Wycliffe." Harry said, handing the vial to the wizard.

"Yes, sir." The Auror saluted and apparated away with a loud crack. There were five loud cracks as the fourth team arrived. "You five. Three criminals are somewhere in Britain, probably not too far from Winchester, with two children. Find them."

"Sir, there's a criminal behind you." One of the Aurors pointed out.

"I am well aware of that. Find those criminals."

"But sir-" Whatever the Auror might've said was cut off by Harry's fierce glare.

"Yes sir." The Auror said meekly. They apparated away and there were five more loud cracks.

"I'm going to get a headache from these fucking loud cracks." Harry snarled, rubbing his head. "Bass, if you are barely capable of Apparating, how did you get from Nainevern, which happens to be located right around Ludlow of all places, all the way to Winchester?"

"Focused Group Apparition." Bass replied easily.

"Perhaps you should consider a career at the SIO." Harry muttered. "SIO, Office of Everything." He mumbled to himself sarcastically, pulling out an energy potion from his pocket and taking a sip. "Ah, that's better." Harry said, apparating back into the building.

Adamsson, Swanst, and Peris were dead each. Crown and Byrne were dueling Paeqweu and Blair. "So that's why I didn't see Byrne." Harry muttered. "Crown! How are three of my men dead?"

"Exceeding competence on part of the criminals, unfortunate underestimation on part of my former colleagues." Crown replied, flicking his wand before sending a curse at Paeqweu.

Harry threw himself into the fray. He was running on pure instinct at this point. It was clear that both Crown and Byrne were tired, and Paeqweu and Blair were, even moreso. And yet they were still standing.

"You've gotten yourself a death sentence!" Harry shouted as he flicked his wand.

"We're not finished yet!" Blair replied. Bass apparated in.

"You may want to give up. You two are tired. I, on the other hand, am filled with energy." Harry said, warningly.

"We will go down fighting." Paeqweu spat, throwing a Killing Curse at Harry, who dropped to the ground. "Or not go down at all!" Blair declared.

Harry got back up, and the duel began. "Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Blair shouted.

"Sectumsempra!" Bass cast.

"Protego Maximum! Protego Horribilis!" Paeqweu said with a wave of his wand.

Byrne glared daggers at Paeqweu. "Incarcerous!"

That got Paeqweu, who glared at Byrne.

"Byrne, if you're up here, who's holding the wards?" Harry asked, pulling Byrne away from them.

"I don't know." Byrne replied, looking at Harry. Both their eyes widened.

"FUCK." Both of them said. They heard a brief explosion and looked outside. The wards, both around the building and with the warding ring, became visible. The ward around the building cracked, spitting out dust as the cracks spread.

Finally, the building ward exploded, letting out a huge blast of air. All of them were thrown to the ground.

"Tuationis sphaereus!" Harry cast just as the building collapsed.

* * *

><p>Harry got up, rubbing his bruises. The sphere of protection he had created had worked. It had created a physical sphere of protection around himself, Byrne, Crown, Bass, and Paeqweu. Blair was not so lucky - Harry could detect that he was dead.<p>

Harry waved his wand up and the sphere expanded upwards. The bits of wood moved and slid off the sphere. Harry could see the sky. He turned his attention to the ground and offered a hand to Byrne, who gratefully grabbed it. Harry pulled him up.

"This really isn't going as well as I planned." Harry sighed.

"No, sir, it really isn't." Byrne replied with a sigh of his own.

Crown got up and went over to him. "Look at the bright side. We have one captured."

"And one dead. We were supposed to bring them in alive." Harry replied.

"Alive or dead." Crown corrected. Harry glared at him, and Crown fell silent. Harry pulled out his pocket watch. It was around 5:45. Harry put his pocket watch back into his pocket.

"Byrne, take Paeqweu back to the Ministry. Place him in a holding cell, security level 3." Harry ordered. Byrne nodded. "Crown, take Bass to Wycliffe. Explain that he will be aiding us in return for a shortened prison sentence at Nainevern for approximately seven months, two weeks, three days, nine hours, thirty-four minutes."

Crown nodded as well and gave a small salute. There were two more loud cracks. Harry manipulated the sphere once more and headed out of the abandoned building... though in truth it was more a pile of wood and rubble.

Harry rubbed his head tiredly as he relaxed his wand. The sphere disappeared. It was a very powerful, very useful spell, but very draining. A spell of his own making - he was particularly proud of it, as it was now required for Aurors to learn and master, which was a hefty feat for a spell. It had reduced death during incidents like these by over forty percent.

Harry pulled out his cellphone again and called Wycliffe. "I'm going to need a fifth - well, sixth squad to dispose of some bodies."

"_What happened_?"

"Ward collapsed. The resulting explosion collapsed the building. Me, Bass, Byrne, and Paeqweu survived thanks to my Sphere, but Blair was killed, and the bodies of Adamsson, Swanst, and Peris are somewhere in the rubble."

"_A team is being arranged. And don't you dare hang up one me, Potter. We need to talk._" Wycliffe said, practically growling.

"As you say." Harry sighed, sitting on the ground.

"_What the fuck happened, Potter? I didn't expect to have to arrange six different teams for something that should've been a simple operation._"

Harry began to explain.

* * *

><p>"<em>...that clears it up.<em>" Wycliffe said with a sigh. "_Good lord, this is a right mess._"

"Yes, yes it is." Harry agreed.

"_Some news, Potter. We've captured Paren, and Bense, and one of the children. Where the other, and Berent, is, we don't know. We have a team searching. Will you be needing that Obliviation squad?_"

"I don't know, Wycliffe. I'm not with the search party." Harry responded.

"_Well. The kids are safe and have been placed with their families. It seems that they were sent to sleep - well, the first four anyway - and they won't have any lasting damage. They can be easily convinced it was a dream. The other one... may have been traumatized. We've assigned a psychologist._" Wycliffe continued.

Harry nodded, taking another sip of energy potion and getting up. By now, the ward ring had lowered. Harry shut the cellphone, not really thinking. "You lot can go home." Harry said, gesturing to the wizards that had formed the ward ring. "Tell your colleagues the same." The wizards nodded, and Harry quickly set up a silencing ward. There were about seventeen loud cracks, each one after the other, and Harry lifted the silencing ward.

With a quieter crack, almost like the creaking of a door, Harry, too, apparated away.

* * *

><p>Harry entered the Department of Mysteries slowly and carefully. Navigating this Department was difficult, and as its name suggested, it was full of mysteries. Even the SIO didn't know all that was inside.<p>

"Ah." Someone said behind him. Harry whirled around and saw one of the Unspeakables. He hadn't been there before, and Harry knew no one had been following him. The halls, too, had no doors on the walls. "Mr. Potter. What do you need with the Department of Mysteries?"

"Something to track down wizards." Harry responded.

"The kidnappings. It'd be 6:20 right now? And the search party is having no luck." The Unspeakable responded calmly.

"I've always wondered how much you people know. How many mysteries your Department holds." Harry said, eyes narrowed.

The Unspeakable smiled genially. "You need not worry. That reputation has been carefully cultivated over the years. It would almost be true. But not to worry - it isn't. We don't have the funding to do as much as everyone says we do."

"But you still have something, yes?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I presume you are searching for Dylas Berent, and the child he has with him, Christopher Lake?" The Unspeakable responded, unflappable as ever. "We do indeed have something. I presume you have an article with his DNA or magical signature on it?"

Harry pulled out a piece of Blair's clothing. Apparently, Berent and Blair had been having relations. "Will this work?"

The Unspeakable plucked the piece out of Harry's hands. "Yes, this will work."

Another Unspeakable appeared and handed an orb to the first, before disappearing. "You are not the only one to master silent Apparation, Potter." The Unspeakable chuckled, opening a door on the orb and slipping the piece of clothing inside.

The internals of the orb became cloudy and everything was obscured. The name SALISBURY appeared in antique lettering. "Will you require anything more, Mr. Potter?" The Unspeakable said with a dark grin.

"No." Harry muttered in response, heading back the way he came.

"The other way." The Unspeakable said, helpfully.

Harry grumbled and turned around.


	10. Multiples

_And we continue._

* * *

><p><strong>Questions<strong>  
><em>-Chapter Seven: Multiples-<em>

* * *

><p>Once Harry knew he was in Salisbury, narrowing down the location easier, using a simple Point Me spell. Unfortunately, it was an imperfect charm, as it only had a dependable range, for the most part, of 3-16 miles. so Berent was just out of range, along with Bense and Paren.<p>

Harry took three wizards - not Crown and Byrne, as both were tired, and Bass was in a holding cell, anyway - some Aurors whom Harry only knew the last name of. Shewry, Tempelton, and Oningmag.

As it turned out, Berent, Bense, and Paren were located on the small island between the rivers Nadder and Avon, close to the river. A ward ring had already been created to ensure there were no incidents, another team was arranged for Apparation to retrieve the children.

It showcased the difficulty of law enforcement within a Muggle area - without the previous brute force Obliviation approach, which wouldn't really work anymore and had already been showing its flaws for many years, law enforcement was much more difficult. If it was a more inefficient government, operations like this would be a bureaucratic nightmare.

Bense and Paren had their wands pointed at the necks of children. Berent realized, very quickly, that he'd been found. Berent wanted the most advantageous position possible. Berent had a nasty reputation, and it was easy to underestimate him as just another lunatic. That was a mistake Harry was determined not to make - a psychopath Berent may be, but he was not stupid.

"Berent!" Harry called.

"Potter. I'm not surprised." Berent said, sneering. "I'll make this simple. Give me the money, we give you the kids. Don't, and we slit their throats. And don't try that little Apparation trick you used last time. It won't work." Berent gave Harry a nasty smile.

Harry could have cursed. "Alright, Berent. Five hundred Galleons." Harry pulled out a bag. In actuality, only top was real Galleons. Most of it was leprechaun gold. Harry walked forward and placed it between them, around the middle area. "The children." Harry stated expectantly, heading back to where he was.

Berent gestured. Paren and Bense picked up the kids and put them next to the Galleons, and then headed back to where they were.

Harry shot out a pink spark. The apparation team came in with a crack and exited with one equally loud. Harry pulled out his wand and flicked it. The leprechaun gold in the bag dissolved.

Berent looked inside the bag just as the gold dissipated. His face took on a decidedly ugly frown, and he pulled out his wand. "Tempelton, Oningmag, you take Paren! Shewry, you take Bense!" Harry shouted.

The duel began.

"Avada Kedavra!" Berent snarled, waving his wand at Harry, who ducked and flicked his wand twice. A jet of yellow and light blue light came out. Berent made a circular motion with his wand and a white, blue-tinted shield appeared.

"Bombarda!" Harry cast. A quick burst of red light shot forward and Berent jumped out of the way. "Diffindo!" Harry said, making a slicing motion.

"Expelliarmus!" Berent shouted. "Protego!" Harry responded. Berent snarled.

"Uncutra inverantatum!" Harry shouted. This one hit Berent, and he fell to the ground. All of his joints had been inverted, and thus, he could no longer control his limbs, as all the joints bent the other way now. Joint Inversion, one of the more useful spells invented in the last few years.

Berent glared at Harry. If looks could kill, Harry would be a pile of ash. "Incarcerous." Harry murmured, and Berent's arms and legs were bound in ropes. Harry knelt down to Berent. "You lose." Harry whispered.

* * *

><p>Harry arranged for two psychologists to help the two children that had been taken by Berent's group. The remaining four had a health check, had any wounds healed, and had any dirt removed, and were taken back to their place of residence to sleep. They could be convinced it was a nightmare, and even if they weren't, whatever trauma had been caused would fade with time. They were young yet.<p>

The apparition teams, ward ring squads and everyone else who'd helped Harry got a three-day leave.

As it turned out, Adamsson hadn't been dead, just severely injured and unconscious. When Harry had heard the news, he'd visited the man immediately. Head trauma meant that he couldn't remember much, so Harry filled him with the details. At the question of whether he bore a grudge over Harry not managing to encase him in the sphere, Adamsson shrugged and said "Why should I hate you over something I can't remember?"

Swanst and Peris, though, were dead. Harry paid for the funerals of both. It was his failure to have the sphere surround them that lead to their death, however indirectly, so Harry felt it only right to pay for their funerals.

Bass was transferred back to Nainevern with a shortened sentence of seven months and a week. When he was released, Harry wished him the best of luck in finding his son, wherever that son might be.

Bense, Paren, and Paeqweu received a two-decade expansion to their sentence and were taken to Azkaban. They would be there for fifty years, and that was assuming they managed to last that long.

Wycliffe thanked Harry profusely for getting all of the children back safely. One of them, it happened, was a cousin of his.

Harry took more energy potion, and made the snap decision that he wanted some of the Aurors to back with him to Japan to aid him in the Kira investigation. In particular, he wanted Crown, Byrne, and Adamsson. It took some wrangling, but Harry had gotten approval. Adamsson, naturally, would be left in Britain for about two weeks to heal the damage from the collapsed building. Crown and Byrne would head with him via international Portkey.

Harry took a quick catnap at Grimmauld Place - his official place of residence - before creating himself a Portkey to head back to his house in Japan.

By the time the entire business - the paperwork detailing the incident, the wrangling to get Crown, Byrne, and Adamsson, the arrangement of the funerals (scheduled for three days later), and everything else, it was well past midnight. Harry was very tired, and even the energy potion wasn't helping.

He muttered the words, there was the brief feeling of a hook pulling on him, and then he landed right in the living area. He noticed Gio, whom looked shocked - and somewhat unhappy - but he couldn't bring himself to care. He sat on the armchair and, at long last, fell asleep.

* * *

><p>After Harry had brought himself back from the land of dreams, it was the next day. He explained everything that happened, and then had to explain the set-up of prisons within Britain, as Gio - rather astonishingly - didn't know.<p>

Praentor was the basic level of prisons and used either as holding cells awaiting trial, or as the prison it was, for criminals with six month to fifteen year sentences. Low to medium-low levels of theft, the occasional mild extortionist, dishonest journalism, and plagiarism. All the sorts of crimes that weren't too serious but were, nevertheless, crimes.

Nainevern, the next level, was used for anywhere from ten-year sentences to seventy-year sentences (only going that far with sentence length of the criminal was particularly young), with the length of the punishment consistent with the severity of the crime committed. Theft, extortion, murder, maybe the occasional war crime - that would land you Nainevern.

Azkaban was the final level and the end of the lane for criminals - if you were put in Azkaban, you were unlikely to get back out. Forty to one hundred twenty year sentences were for the criminals in Azkaban. And if you did survive your entire sentence in Azkaban, you'd be placed in the Wystwern Rejuvenation Center for Former Criminals to recover your mental faculties and get re-educated on world affairs for seven months to nine years. Some people, upon arrival, never left Wystwern.

For the very worst of criminals, the ones that could be called truly evil, they were sentenced either to the Veil or the Dementor's Kiss.

Harry additionally explained that they would be joined by some Aurors Harry had worked with - James Crown, Stephen Byrne, and Rowland Adamsson. Gio looked rather pleased to have some help on it. They would be arriving that afternoon.

Sure enough, at 3:33 in the afternoon (Japanese time), two of them arrived with a knock on the door. Harry opened it and grinned when he saw who it was.

"Ah! Have a seat." Harry said, directing them to the couch. In front of the couch was a table where three files had been lain out for them. "Inside the files is all the information on the case. Gio, this is James Crown and Stephen Byrne. Crown, Byrne, this is my valet, Giovanni Shephard." They shook hands, muttering "Good to meet you," and other such things along those lines.

Crown nodded, already looking over the file. Byrne was grumbling to himself. "How did you convince me to do this again?" Harry heard him mutter.

Harry sat on the chair. "Well, so long as Kira doesn't find out your real name, you have the safest job in the world you can get while still operating as a detective slash auror and getting a full salary."

"And it's coming out of you're pocket, too." Crown chuckled.

Harry nodded. That was a rather unfortunate aspect of the agreement, as the Ministry wouldn't pay them since they wouldn't technically speaking, be working at the DMLE or the SIO, so the money came straight out of Harry's Praespecuniis* account.

After all the information Harry knew about had been told to Crown and Byrne, Harry assigned them to looking over the registers for Japanese high school students that Harry had obtained from the Japanese Ministry.

"What signs should we be looking for?" Crown had asked.

Harry considered for a moment. "High intelligence, very high grades. Possibly special notes from teachers complimenting him/her. Very popular or an absolute loner. Interviewing people who know him/her, such as friends and family, should be done once candidates are narrowed down."

Crown nodded.

* * *

><p>The room was colored pure white. It was thoroughly soundproofed. The only entrance way was a reinforced door, also painted in that same shade of white. Once shut, the room was completely isolated from the outside world. Air was received through a magical charm Harry had created. Inside the room, there were two chairs and a table, colored that same shade of white.<p>

Harry called it a mood room. Gio, though, preferred to call it the boring room. And in some ways, Gio was right - the room was dull and uninteresting. It did allow for clear thinking, though, in complete silence.

"Have you considered the possibility that Kira is using a Horcrux?" Harry asked, pacing back and forth.

"Horcruxes aren't supposed to be able to do that." Gio responded.

Harry gestured to his forehead. "Nor are they supposed to be able to attach to living beings. Yet it's been done - once, intentionally, another time, unintentionally."

"It remains a gigantic leap of faith. It is, additionally, ridiculous." Gio replied.

Harry nodded. "I suppose. But if Horcruxes can break the rules and limitations we think they have, what's to say-" Harry stopped right there. Gio could practically see the gears turning.

What's to say that Kira couldn't control the actions of the victims before death? Going under that theory, who knows how many people might be simply acting out instructions from Kira before their inevitable death by heart attack?

On the other hand, there was no record of unusual behavior before the victim's death, and Kira knowing exactly how his victims lived, or what they did on a daily basis, was a gigantic leap of faith. It was, additionally, still a possibility.

"I believe we have reached the same theory." Gio said.

Harry nodded. "Still only theory. I do hope it isn't true."

"As do I."

* * *

><p>*<strong>Praespecuniis<strong>: A wizarding bank founded in 1978. Until the great ICW Steamrollering and a thorough investigation of Gringotts, it was relatively small and little-known. It is currently the most popular bank in Europe and Brazil.

This chapter was difficult to write. I'm still not completely happy with it, but here you are. Q now has his very own equivalent to the Japanese taskforce.


	11. Author's Note: November Hiatus

**Questions  
>Author's Note: November Hiatus<strong>

Note: during the month of November there will be no updates. I apologize for telling you this so late, but I have been working on my novel for NaNoWriMo, and 50,000 words, even if it's not really long enough to be a novel, is not easy.


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